Annie Minnaar - Birth • Massage • Yoga, Arbroath (2026)

10/12/2022

🌈 I'm away on mat leave until May 2023!

I should have moved over to a personal page months ago, instead of trying to continue to be active here. Here is me setting myself a clear boundary. I am neither looking for clients nor taking on work until AT LEAST May 2023. Probably longer. This means I will not be active on this business page until then.

I need a clear break. Motherhood is intense.

Ciao for now.

15/11/2022

🌔🌕🌖 10 moons growing you, my little love...

🌓 When I look at these photos and reflect back, it hardly seems like the same me all those weeks ago.

🌔 I saw pregnancy as a portal, a ceremony, a chance to go deep into healing levels of my inner world that would not serve me going forward as a Mother.

🌕 Through the challenges I faced while growing my boy, I grew stronger and much more capable. I also witnessed shadow aspects of myself and was able to begin to bring love and healing to them.

🌖 My dreams showed me stories in my life I was still holding onto, old wounds that were still raw and needed tending. I can barely remember what they were now, its bizarre.

🌗 I found pregnancy to be the most intuitive and magical time, feeling so similar to sacred ceremonies I've been in. With Yoga as an allie, I felt able to go through my fears, face them, release them. Anxiety surfaced and eased, bringing with it all the elements of birth and motherhood that terrified me. I felt scared, anxious, nervous and unconfident at times but with the reassurance of my loving doula and with my yoga practice I could turn these into gifts of insight and release the fear.

🌊 I had to go deep into the shadows to be free from them. Avoiding them only made them stronger. This was the same way I got through the intensity of labour...the only way was to face it head on, surrender fully and dive deep. Let it consume me and spit me out, transformed.

14/11/2022

🌿 Essentials for coming out of the fourth trimester feeling well.

🛏 Deep rest: Bed rest for as long as you can. Avoid any cooking or chores. Prioritise sleep whenever possible. Avoid unnecessary guests and appointments or leaving the house. Aim for at least 1 week, ideally much more.
🍲 Nourishment: soups, stews, broths, herbal teas, oatmeal, stewed fruit, rice pudding, ghee, high protein, fat, complex carbs and warming spices to aid digestion. Focus on soft, warm, sweet, salty and moist.
🔥 Warmth: warm foods and drinks, avoid going outside uncovered, woollen socks, avoid draughts, keep ears and feet cosy, avoid wet hair, hot water bottles, keep the abdomen warm, belly binding, hot baths.
🤝🏼Support: ask your partner/family for very specific help. Plan your fourth trimester in pregnancy. Hire a doula. Stock your freezer/cupboards with food in advance. Learn to ask for help. Get numbers for local feeding support. Reach out!
🥰 Compassion: go gently with yourself and speak kindly to your own heart. A new Mother is to be treated with loving kindness, unconditional love, patience and forgiveness.

It is super hard to achieve this alone, so choose what is possible no matter how small and ask for help wherever you can. How can you bring these principles into your postnatal time?

12/11/2022

🌼 Specially selected herbs to support from pregnancy to postpartum...

As part of my offerings under Airmid's Tree Apothecary, I have a dedicated range of healing and nourishing herbal remedies that accompany a mother through pregnancy, birth and postpartum.

👶🏼Gentle Baby Balm: healing and soothing for sensitive skin. With Plantain, Comfrey, Calendula, Self heal and St. John's wort.
🌼 Ni**le Balm: bestselling salve for dry, cracked, painful ni***es. Perfect for nursing. With Calendula, Rose and Chamomile.
🌿 Nourishing herbal tea: deeply nutritive and balancing herbal blend, assisting hormonal regulation and nervous sytem restoration. With Rose, Oats, Red clove and Nettle.
🍑 Postnatal sitz bath: soothing and healing for sensitive perineal tissue following childbirth. With Comfrey, Calendula, Lavender, Lady's Mantle, Bugle and Yarrow.
🌸 Soothing body oil: a deeply relaxing herbal infused massage oil, perfect for full body use from pregnancy through to postpartum. Can also be used for baby massage. With Rose, Lavender, Lemon Balm and St. John's Wort.
🍇 Pile ease recovery kit: Relieves and reduces the symptoms of haemorrhoids. Includes Pilewort balm and a sitz bath with Calendula, Catmint, Lady's mantle, Comfrey and Plantain.
😚 Natural Lip Balm: a wonderfully nourishing lip salve that moisturises and nourishes dry, chapped skin. Perfect for the birth bag! With Calendula, Plantain, Lavender, Chamomile, Shea butter and Vitamin E.

All handmade, from scratch, with pure loving intention, care and respect to the plant allies. Made in small batches, using high quality raw ingredients and experienced extraction methods.

🌈 Create your own bespoke gift set from this range of goodies and view more of my range in the online apothecary, link in bio 👆🏼

10/11/2022

🌿 Meet the maker...

🌼 Its been a fair while since I did an intro, and things have changed a lot lately!

🌿My name's Annie and I currently live in Lunan, Angus. I'm a new Mum, having gave birth to my amazing wee boy at the end of August this year. I love Motherhood passionately and, even though it is super hard at times, I finally feel like I have truly found what I am meant to do on this earth.

🌼Before becoming a Mother, I was offering massage therapies for pregnancy and postpartum alongside birth and postnatal doula support. I also run a small apothecary where I handmake and sell high quality herbal remedies and natural skincare . From plant to product, my hands magic up lush potions to suit a range of needs, focusing mostly on herbs for the childbearing year.

🌿I love the ocean, wild swimming, dancing, cooking, foraging, singing, trad music, bagpipes, circus, growing food, sewing, yoga, cats and hot summer days in nature!

🌼From now on I'll be merging my doula page with my Airmid's Tree Apothecary page, to keep everything I offer neatly in one place. I'll continue to share about my mothering journey including info about birth and postpartum prep, cloth nappy use, breastfeeding and more.

🌿Its so lovely to have you here with me, thanks for joining me!

29/09/2022

🫐 Nourishing the New Mother...

🥣 What I've learned in these 5 weeks postpartum is that for vitality, strength and health to remain the new mother needs these fundamental things:

Deep rest and peace
Nourishing food and drinks
Warmth
Support, care and reassurance
Massage and bodywork
Physical help with chores and cooking
Dedicated support with infant feeding

My amazing husband has been making me this super wholesome porridge each morning and it has been so nourishing, with plenty of protein and fat plus easily digestible carbs. We need plenty of good quality fats for hormone production and milk making plus protein for tissue repair and carbs for energy needed to recover after birth. This will keep me full all morning and keep my blood sugar stable.

*Choose organic, free range where possible.
1 cup oats
1.5 cup full fat milk
1 tsp ghee
1 egg
Pinch sea salt
1 tbsp goji berries
1 handfull blueberries
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Cook the oats in a cup of milk, with cinnamon, goji berries, salt, ghee and maple. Whisk the egg into the remaining milk until well mixed, then add to the oats and stir well until creamy and cooked through. Add blueberries and stir in.

The egg makes it custard like and oh so good! I can affirm that this is possible to eat while lying in bed breastfeeding and doesn't taste rubbish cold! Take alongside an iron supplement to give your morning a boost.

17/07/2022

🌿 Turning inward, aware of my heightened sensitivities and unhealthy use of screen time. See you on the otherside!

05/07/2022

☀️ 3rd trimester bliss...
🌈 A little someone has definitely had a growth spurt over the weekend! Feeling much bigger, rounder, softer, slower. Ligaments and joints are more subtle and I have to be super mindful of how I sit, move and lie down to support my gently softening tissues..
🌿 My new fav position is all fours, giving baby plenty of space to move away from my pelvic floor and settle into a head down position. Daily walks and yoga are top of my list plus savouring long swims and practicing birth moves in the water. I imagine I am in my birth pool and practice the positions that I might find helpful for labour and birth, including the breathwork.
💜 I'm starting to really enjoy pregnancy and this new phase. My wonderful doula has helped immensely at reassuring my fears, so I have a higher sense of groundedness and space surrounding the birth. Doulas are incredible. I couldn't imagine going through this without her invaluable support during pregnancy.
🌼 Big love and respect to the pregnant mammas!

04/07/2022

🌿 Herbal baths for tired, restless legs...
🌿 Pregnancy is a trip! Your body is doing a mammoth task of growing a human from scratch, so its no wonder that there may be some symptoms of discomfort throughout your journey.
🌿 I've been getting restless legs most evenings before bed and have found that this soothing herbal bath has helped hugely. I add it to a hot bath, alongside 1 cup of epsom salts, and soak for as long as I can before bed. I follow this with a massage to my legs, hips and feet using St. John's Wort infused olive oil. (SJW is safe when used topically during pregnancy).
💜Mix equal parts of dried:
🌿 St. John's wort
🌿 Chamomile
🌿 Birch leaf
🌿 Lavender
🌿 Rose petals
🌿 Meadowsweet
💜 Add a handful of herb mix to a large pan. Add 1.5l boiling water, cover and infuse for 15 minutes. Strain into the bath water and add 1 cup epsom salts. Alternatively, add to a small foot bath and soak for 20 mins.
🌿 Eases restless legs, cramp, sore joints, tired achey legs and feet. Soothes the nervous system generally and is resorative and relaxing. Can't sleep? Try this at night time.

09/06/2022

💜 Anahata Heart Chakra crafts....
🌸 Yesterday I broke up my day of chores and treated myself to some creative time. I've thoroughly enjoyed handpainting these baby onesies and am feeling inspired to make more of these Anahata Heart Chakra items. This would fit 0-3 months and will be available to purchase at at the next shop update. If I can get myself together, I have a handful of blank onesies waiting to be painted.
💜 I love that a little baby would have this beautiful prayer sitting over their heartspace in those early weeks. The affirmation or prayer for Anahata is "I am loved", which every child should feel on entering this world. I'll be painting one for my own wee one! It is also a very grounding and heart opening image to look at as a parent. Everytime you see this when you look at your baby it will bring healing to your heartspace. Super oxytocin boost!!
🌸 If folk like this and would like to see other sizes made, I can accommodate that too. Just leave a comment below with the sizes you'd like to see.
💜 Big love to all x

16/05/2022

🧡 I totally love my "job"!
💙 I feel so utterly grateful to be able to do what I do. I adore my role as a massage therapist and at the end of every session I feel uplifted, happy and peaceful. My clients are absolute gems and I am so honoured to be trusted by them. Honestly, it rarely feels like work and I receive so much in return from the wonderful conversations and reflections that I share with my clients.
🧡 Today I had the blessing to offer postnatal massage to a first time Mamma and we shared her joy and excitement at the wonders of pregnancy and birth. I was worried that pregnancy would hinder my ability to give massage treatments but I feel it has enhanced it. Particularly pregnancy and postnatal massage. The gentility, care and connection that is needed for these treatments suits my current state so well and both myself and clients have remarked that they feel held by another presence. This is more noticeable with my pregnant clients who mention the awareness of the two little beings hidden from sight but very much in the space. It is incredibly special. I'll really miss offering pregnancy and postnatal massage while pregnant and absolutely look forward to specialising in this area after my own baby is earthside.
💙 I only have 3 more days in the Edinburgh clinic before I go on maternity leave, and the spaces are filling up quick! To secure your spot, follow the link in bio to book.
🧡 Sending so much love to you!

12/05/2022

🌸 Thoughts on self worth, pregnancy & parenthood...
🌸 I find it disturbing that, commonly in our society, there is a pressure to achieve more, do more, be more. Social media can be a constant bombardment of the successes and achievements of others, which is a wonderful celebration but can easily feed the inner critic. "Why aren't you doing more? What are you good at in your life? Why aren't you as good as they are at X?"
🌸 Pregnancy has brought considerable gentility to my life. I move slower, I think slower, I speak slower. My capacity to "do" has reduced significantly and I am learning to come to terms with this new pace of life. My energy is erratic and unreliable. My attention span fades much quicker. I often focus on this and how it separates me from the social spaces I am used to being a part of. I feel inadequate, lonely and a bit useless.
🌸 And then I remember one crucial fact.
🌸 I am growing a human being. I am creating life. I am the divine creative force at work. I am making a skeleton, muscles, a heart, nerves... I am a miracle maker. What greater productive role could I even imagine at this point? I am enough as I am and am doing absolutely enough just by being in each moment. This also rings very true for parenthood.
🌸 The patriarchal society we inhabit has us believe that as mothers we are not enough. It erases our sacred and important work in growing amd raising future generations. That in itself is enough and will always be enough. Anything else is a beautiful extra.
🌸 What are your thoughts my friends?

Annie Minnaar - Birth • Massage • Yoga

10/12/2022

15/11/2022

14/11/2022

12/11/2022

10/11/2022

29/09/2022

17/07/2022

05/07/2022

04/07/2022

09/06/2022

16/05/2022

12/05/2022

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